Same city, different success …

London plays host to a number of teams, and in the Premier league, London is home to some of English football’s biggest teams, however the two main dominating force’s are arguably Chelsea FC and their North London rivals, Arsenal FC.

For the past six years Chelsea have had an excellent, successful half decade of picking up trophies. They have claimed three Premier League crowns, three FA Cups, two League Cups and finally, two Charity Shields, totalling an impressive ten trophies in six years, where as our North London rival’s, have managed a measly ‘0’ title triumphs since 2005’s FA cup win.

A few question’s come to mind when looking at these stats, not only concerned with the Blues, but also with the Gooners, after a hefty six-year absence of silverware, how has Wenger managed to stay on at the helm.

The Gunners’ boss has been a long serving member of the North Londoners, sculpting the infamous ‘invincibles’ and claiming a league trophy and a few other trophies along the way, but as of late, late being the past six years, Wenger has opted for a new, risky regime; youngsters.

Wenger has adopted a philosophy of using younger players, between the ages of 18 and 23, with some senior players, in a team, with it sometimes, almost paying off, whereas Chelsea have always bought first team, senior players to replace or add to a squad.

So after six trophy-less years, and with the current ‘cut throat’ business that football has turned into in the past decade, how has Wenger managed to hang on to his job with one of English football’s most elite teams, yet, with the success the Blues have revelled in over the same amount of time, we’ve seen five managers fall to Abramovich’s axe.

Chelsea have seen five World-class top notch managers come and go and some of whom were real characters, well with the exception of Avram Grant. They have all known how to win in their previous jobs, Mourinho dominated with Porto, Scolari was a world cup winning coach, Hiddink, an international maestro, and the late Ancelloti who was the double winning manager and is/was one of Italy’s most successful coaches. Four quality coaches, who minus Scolari, brought some sort of silverware to the bridge, yet all have fallen to the Abramovich era, which could very well be a reason as to why Wenger has lasted so long in such a disappointing period. Arsenal are owned by shareholders, which is soon to change, but over the past six years, the stability Wenger guarantees is what has saved his job for years, but if he was to be judged on success, Wenger would be long gone.

When it comes to comparing the success Chelsea has tasted over the past six years, where as Arsenal have tasted disappointment. Chelsea’s success has thrust the Kings Road boy’s into the top five teams in the World, with the blues being regarded as one of the most threatening teams in the World, and although in recent years, the elusive Champions league has eluded us, we’ve reached a final, consecutive semis, and have hardly, if never, failed to progress from the group stages in Europe, whilst also picking up every single English trophy more than once, something Arsenal cannot afford the luxury of having in their verbal arsenal. Chelsea’s success has come at a cost however, with the Russian billionaire’s wallet providing some of the biggest transfer scoops in the history of football; 50 mil for Torres, 30.5 mil for Shevchenko, as well as the many midfielders who we’ve paid well over 20 million for, some proving to be sound investments.

Wenger however, has not had the luxury of a deep, bellowing transfer kitty, which explains why he’s targeted the younger players. As they’re cheaper than going for Europe’s hot shots, and can be produced into the future of football, and even sold on for a nice sum.

To round this battle royale of London’s two biggest teams, Chelsea’s success has come at financial and managerial costs, but nether the less, has worked and has made Chelsea one of the most feared and titanic teams in the world.

As for Arsenal, as sound as Wenger’s plans and ideas are, trophies are what talk success in this crazy business, and as of the last six years, Arsenal have not been able to keep up with the two-horse race of success, that is between Chelsea and Manchester United. Chelsea’s success is something we can be proud about, and the chase for silverware, and that illustrious holy grail, the Champions League, still continues.